[amazon_link id=”075640679X” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]Title : Magebane
Author : Lee Arthur Chane
Genre : Sci-fi / Steampunk
Publisher : DAW
Pages : 488 (ARC)
Source : Publisher ARC
Rating : 3/5

Magebane is a steampunk-meets magic-meets science kind of a book. I was fairly intrigued reading the preview material for it. The story is centered around the kingdom of Evrenfels and it’s inhabitants – the MageLords. The MageLords are a powerful magic wielding race, who have fled from their older kingdom in fear of the Magebane, a powerful enemy who is unaffected by their magic. They finally build the current MageWorld, and shelter it from the outside “Commoners” by two impermeable “barriers”. The kingdom has it’s own “magesun” and controlled environment and derives it’s power from the lode of Magic on which it is built. The MageLords live in relative wealth and comfort, believing themselves to be above the Commoners, and have little sympathy or consideration for their plight.

The head of the MageLords is the King, magically chosen amongst the MageLords by the passage of the “Keys”(a special magic possessed by the King) to a worthy successor. In reality, the MageKing is weak, a decorative head who busies himself with his own pleasures leaving the all-powerful Minister of Public Safety, Lord Falk, and the First Mage Tagaza, to run the kingdom as they see fit. The king’s son and Heir,  Prince Karl Everenfels finds himself rebelling against Lord Falk’s cruel and autocratic ways. When Karl finds out about a plan to bring down the Barriers which separate the MageLords from the Commoners, a plan which will potentially denigrate his own authority, he surprisingly finds himself siding with the weaker Commoners. But enemies abound, and when Karl faces some unpleasant and surprising truths, his goal gets that much harder to achieve . . .

This novel has a large cast of characters from both sides of the Barriers, and the book starts off by giving us a short crash course in the ways of the Mageborn, via Karl’s musings. Chane creates a whole new world of Mageborn folks; each of them possess some degree of Magic. There are the MageLords including Lord Falk and the twelve hereditary MageLords. There are also the powerful healers like the soft-magic wielding old crone Mother Northwind. Then there are the MageCorps, functionaries like Karl’s faithful bodyguard and friend Teran. The main protagonists in the novel are Falk, his ward Brenna, Karl, the King, and the Commoner rebels like Vinthor and Anton. More than one character has a detailed back-story and intricate motivations for siding one way or the other (for the MageLords or against them). I must applaud first-time author Chane for managing such a large canvas quite ably.

I found the book quite appealing because it pitted science against magic, and couldn’t help being drawn in by the detailed descriptions of this alternate magical reality – it’s spells, it’s inventions and it’s different life. Commoners have achieved through science which the MageLords do via Magic. Against this backdrop Chane has created well-fleshed out characters. He gives the reader a look-see into their minds, which was quite interesting. The story has many twists and turns and is quite unpredictable so it keeps one engaged and reading.

All that said, this book does lack finesse. While it was an engrossing book, it’s power was diluted by Chane’s propensity to “tell” us how it is, rather than have his characters act out the story. The characters, while varied and distinctly fleshed out, were simply too many, and it got a little complex keeping track of all of them. Each character had an obscure reason to do what he did, and it was hard to keep up with each one’s desires and motivations. A simpler, stronger set of characters might have worked better to strengthen the narrative. All the threads do tie up in the end (quite a task in itself) but they don’t tie up with as much spit and polish as I’d like. I’m hoping though that if Chane, as talented as he appears to be, comes up with other books after this one, I will have no cause to complain.